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Friday, September 23, 2011

Is There a Majority of Orthodox Anglican in Latin America?

It has become commonplace to refer to Africa, Asia and Latin America as majority Christian regions, conservative in theological outlook in contrast to the revisionist liberalism of the West.

This claim was also made in an announcement from the Primates of the Global South while on a recent visit to China. While the claim may be accurate with regard to the Christian presence in these regions, especially in view of the growing Protestant community (liberalism in the form of Liberation Theology left its mark on the Roman Catholic Church), it fails to correspond to the facts with reference specifically to Anglicanism.

Various Latin American countries form part of the Ninth internal Province of the Episcopal Church (TEC) of North America, and the Provinces of Mexico, Central America and Brazil have articulated the formation of a Global Centre in contrast to the Global South. These provinces are known for their ideological and financial dependence on TEC, behaving as satellites.

The diminutive and shrinking Province of Brazil (IEAB) has advocated a more radical theology than TEC itself. That leaves the conservative Province of the Southern Cone, part of which - the dissident Diocese of Uruguay - wants out in order to be allied to a more liberal Province, probably that of Brazil. To read more, click here.